


Not Exactly the Smallest Guy in the World

by WeInItNowScoob



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Bullying, Eating Disorders, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jon has a thing for chunky bois, M/M, body issues, office gossip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23620978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeInItNowScoob/pseuds/WeInItNowScoob
Summary: Martin struggles with accepting his weight. The people who love and care about him try to help.
Relationships: Background Tim Stoker/Sasha James, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, One sided Tim Stoker/Martin Blackwood
Comments: 47
Kudos: 202





	1. Tim and Jon

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone seems to love writing Martin overcoming great obstacles in his life, but I’ve yet to see any good ones about him specifically accepting his weight. That’s where I come out of my fanfic hidey-hole!

Martin had a bad habit of eavesdropping. How couldn’t he? It incorporated two things he was very passionate about. Learning something new about others in a candid setting, and proving to himself just how sneaky he could be when he wanted.

He didn’t always try to eavesdrop, not on purpose, but he was a quiet walker, and if he just so happened to hear something interesting, he couldn’t resist blending in with the scenery and absorbing every word he heard. In this case, that “something interesting” happened to be his own name, coming from inside the break room. Unable to ignore people talking about him behind his back, he shifted out of view from the doorframe, and listened:

“.... -I’m saying, is that I don’t understand how he lumbers about being tall AND that fat. Wouldn’t that hurt your back?” Said Diana from the library. Martin’s heart sank.

“I know, right?” Said Tom from the same department, “I’m not.... I don’t find fat blokes unattractive, but I’m just concerned-“

“Oh, SHUT it, Tom,” said Tim, Martin’s fellow researcher, “We’ve been over this. A little excessive body weight isn’t going to kill you, and the only ones who say otherwise are doctors trying to sell you something.”

‘Bless Tim’, Martin thought, but the damage was already done. He should leave now before-

“A little excessive bodyweight? He must be three hundred pounds!” Tom argued.

“At least! He’s over six feet tall, you know.” Added Diana.

“Well, he doesn’t have any problem moving about, so why should it matter?” Tim asked.

“Sure, but if he continues eating like garbage he could get to there!” Diana answered.

“Would it really kill him to take one of his daily dozen cups of tea without cream and sugar?” Tom asked.

“You guys-“ Tim started, but at that point, Martin had heard enough. His vision blurred as he turned and walked silently through the hallway. As he blinked away the tears, he was greeted with the first perfectly clear image of a concerned and very uncomfortable looking Jon. Martin internally cringed. He really did not need this right now. His new boss already thought he was pathetic, and finding him crying in the hallways over the most High School shit was not going to prove his opinion of Martin wrong.

”Erm.... What’s wrong, Martin?” Jon asked awkwardly, as if the words were pinching his teeth as he spoke, “Are you hurt?”

”Mmm? Oh, no,” Martin said, pretending to laugh it off, “No, no, I just...” he huffed, trying to think of a good lie. He didn’t dare say it was a family emergency, god forbid. He could say his (imaginary) childhood dog died, but would that make him look more or less childish, crying over something like that? Seeing the impatient look on Jon’s face, he panicked, and blurred out the semi-truth, “I’m just... I’m having a bad day is all...”

Jon muttered something that sounded along the lines of “of course you are,” and cleared his throat, “Well. If you’re feeling stressed out, you should take a break. Do you think you’ll feel well enough in an hour so you can start looking into that report about the... Heh-... The haunted gashapon machine that spit out little toys that resembled the patron’s favorite childhood belongings?”

At Jon’s ridiculous little smirk and denial of all that was spooky, Martin sniffed and huffed our a small laugh. Leave it to Jon to help him forget whatever was bothering him... unless it was Jon being the bother, of course, “Actually.... I’d like to dive right into it. I need a good distraction.”

Jon made something that almost looked like a smile before it went back to it’s natural stone cold state and said, “You’re sure that’s a good idea? You seem to be in an emotional state and I’d rather not see your work drowning in mistakes for this report-“

”I’m fine!” Martin insisted, a little too loudly. His head ducked down, “I’m sorry.. I just... I really don’t want a break. My research will be good and thorough. I promise.”

That seemed to satisfy Jon as much as it would, as he gave a terse nod and said, “See that it will”, in a cool tone. Martin nodded back and lumbered- stumbled- waddled- (Oh no, he walked funny, didn’t he?) walked off to get started on his research.

* * *

Jon watched Martin very awkwardly shuffle through the hallway. Once he was out of his sight, he let out a sigh. He hoped whatever Martin was dealing with wasn’t too serious- He shook his head. What was he thinking? This was MARTIN. He was probably stressed out because he forgot what MLA formatting looked like. AGAIN. But before Jon could give too much thought on whatever Martin’s backwater university had done to lead him so far astray from something resembling competence, he saw Tim burst out of the break room, yell “I’M DONE.” at whoever was inside, and slam the door, stomping through the hallway in Jon’s direction.

Something in Jon’s mind clicked. It seemed silly, to coincidental, but for some reason he couldn’t help but remind himself of Martin’s aversion to taking a break. He’d think the larger man would at least make himself a cup of tea, or offer tea to others when he seemed so stressed out-

He placed his hand on Tim’s shoulder and pulled him aside, into an empty office. Getting over the initial shock of being manhandled by someone so small, Tim said, “Everything alright, boss man?”

“Yes, yes. Tim, I need to ask you something-“

Tim’s eyes lit up in faux excitement, “Ohhhhh, finally changed your policy on office sex, have you?”

Jon made a disgusted noise and shoved Tim’s shoulder away from him.

“Sorry. Couldn’t resist.” Tim said, “What’s up?”

Jon took a deep breath before asking, “Tim... Did something happen in the break room recently?”

Tim cocked his head, “No more than the usual office drama-,” his expression suddenly sobered and he cautiously asked, “Why?”

“I saw Martin leaving the break room hallway and he looked quite distraught-“

“Nooo! He heard?” Tim hissed.

“Heard what?”

“I don’t know how much he could have heard, but Diane and Tom we’re making fun of his weight. I told them to kindly fuck off, but then they started getting defensive, saying they were just concerned about his health, and how he eats too much, how he could get diabetes or die and- and...” Tim’s face hardened, “Jon.”

“Yes?” Jon answered.

“Why do you care?”

“I’d never seen Martin quite that distressed before.” Jon said cooly, “I wanted to get to the bottom of it.”

“Well. The ‘bottom’ of it is that Martin’s seriously sensitive about his body image. Do not. Use this against him.” Tim said with such a commanding tone it made Jon’s spine tingle.

“Wh-? I’d never do such a-“

“You use everything else against him, why not this?” Tim demanded.

“I might be a little harsh on Martin, but it’s only because I want him to do better!” Jon answered. Tim tolled his eyes. “I’m serious! I’d never go so low as to bully someone for their weight.”

“But everything else’s on the table, ay?” Tim asked, “you said you’ve never seen him that distressed. You don’t think we haven’t? On days where you make him feel particularly inept?”

The anger flushed from Jon’s face and was immediately replaced with one of shame. “I.... He really-?”

“Yeah, boss!” Tim said, “You! And guess who gets to pick up the pieces of broken Martin every time he’s chewed out over improper formatting, or he overhears a recording of yours where you specifically call him out, by name, for what you think is a lack of intelligence? Do you know how embarrassing that is for him, Jon!”

Jon was still for a moment, before taking off his glasses and pinching his brow. “I should apologize to him, shouldn’t I...”

“You think so??” Tim asked in a high pitched shriek.

“Yes... but first. Send Tom and Diana to my office...”

* * *

  
“You... Wanted to see me, Jon?” Martin asked meekly from the doorframe.

”Sit down, Martin.” Jon said, gesturing at the chair in front of his desk. Upon seeing Martin’s face pale, he quickly added, “No, you’re not getting sacked... or transferred.”

“O-oh. ‘Kay.” Martin said quietly as he cautiously shambled toward the offered seat. He crossed his legs and arms, and Jon could swear he was sucking in his stomach.

”Martin... I understand you’ve been subject to some gossip in the workplace as of late-“

”Wh-? Jon! You’re not going to.... They’ll think I- Or Tim-“

”Don’t worry, after doing a little research, I’ve concluded that this was not a one-time occurrence and that Diane and Tom have been gossiping about everyone’s appearance for quite some time. All I had to do was make an anonymous complaint to Elias, and he made sure they’ll be attending an extremely cheesy conference on proper workplace relations.”

Martin made a face that looked like he was hiding a little smile, but ultimately lost. he looked down before asking, “How cheesy are we talking about?”

Jon couldn’t help but smile back, “They’ll be forced to watch an hour long VHS on the subject. I think it was filmed in the 70’s.”

”Oh god.” Martin giggled.

Jon let himself huff out a laugh, and then he was frowning. After a few awkward silences, Martin seemed to notice.

”Jon?”

”I’ll be joining them.”

“Oh?... Oh!” Martin caught on, and Jon winced as he watched Martin suck in his stomach even more and sit up straighter, “You were... with them on it? Well, it doesn’t-“

”No. Martin, just. No.” Jon interrupted, taking in a sigh, “Not because of that. I’m talking about in general.”

“It’s... Fine, Jon, I know I-“

”It’s very NOT fine, Martin.” Jon said, “I’ve been nothing but unkind to you, you shouldn’t just take it like that as if you deserve it!”

”Jon-“

”No. Listen.”

Martin stilled.

”I shouldn’t have treated you the way I have been. If I have a problem with your work, I should be more professional about it. I have no excuse for how I’ve acted, no matter how stressed out I’ve been since... Since”

“Right..” Martin said softly.

“Martin, I....” Jon sucked in a pained breath, as if this was the hardest thing in the world (it wasn’t), “I’m so sorry. I’m going to make an effort in treating you with the respect I should have been showing you as an employee. Don’t let me treat you like that again.”

”I...” Martin was rendered speechless. He was not expecting this turn of events at all. All he could do was sit there, smiling like an idiot.

”And if anyone makes a rude little quip about your appearance again... Send them to me and I’ll send them to the retro training videos dungeon.”

That set Martin off in a burst of laughter. Jon allowed himself a small smile, for making the other man cry with laughter rather than.. Well. This outcome was far cuter. Jon found himself enraptured by the sight of Martin’s whole body jiggling as he laughed, his dimples-

Hold the fuck up- Cuter?

Jon’s mind raced for a distraction for about half a second before settling on,

”Oh, and Martin? While you’re here...”

Martin instantly sobered up, wiping a tear away. “Hmm?”

“I promised I’d be more professional if I found a problem with your work. So let’s go over your haunted gashapon report in a civilized manner, hmm?” Jon said, taking out a heavy stack of paper in one hand and audibly clicking a red pen in the other.

Martin swallowed nervously.


	2. Sasha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: eating disorders and child negligence (Martin is maybe 14 years old here, but still! Baby!)

”Mum! _Dinner’s ready!” Martin called from the kitchen. He took the frying pan off the burner and transferred the eggs and sausages onto two plates before decorating them with fruit and the toast that just popped out of the toaster and scooped baked beans on them. Martin admired his own work for a second before his mother came limping in. Martin rushed to her side when it looked like she was about to trip, but she elbowed him away. That didn’t stop him from pulling her chair out. Once they were both sat down, Martin lifted his fork and knife, ready to dig in._

_”You made too much.” Martin’s mother said with a scowl._

_”I’m- I did? It looks like a normal amount to me-“_

_”You made too much!” His mother repeated with more force, “You need to cook smaller portions, Martin! Especially when you should be watching your weight!”_

_”My... Weight?” Martin squeaked._

_”Yes, your weight! You’ve been eating like a pig for years and you didn’t notice how fat you were getting?” She hissed._

_All of a sudden, Martin was all too aware of how his stomach was starting to hang over the top of his thighs, which were also suddenly much thicker than he remembered them... His chest was too soft, his arms felt loose in his too-tight shirt... When did this happen?_

_”Ok! Well... Tonight I’ll make us a lighter meal. How does chicken stir fry sound?” Martin said, taking a bite out of his sausage._

_Martin’s mother watched him eat a few more bites, looked him over with scrutinizing eyes, and opened the trash bin next to her before dumping the contents of her plate into it._

_”M-Mum!!” Martin squawked, his voice breaking, “I have to leave for school in five minutes!”_

_His mother just stared at him before saying, “Stop. Getting. Bigger.”  
_

_He sighed, before scraping half the contents of his plate onto hers. It shouldn’t take such a big breakfast to fill a young boy like him up, right?_

“-tin.. Martin. Hey! Martin!”

Martin jolted from his trance and turned to Sasha.

“There he is!” Sasha said cheerfully, “This is the fourth time you’ve zoned out in the last hour! Is something on your mind?”

”Erm...” Martin tries to remember what he was thinking about.

”Is it Jon?” Sasha asks with a cheeky grin.

”Wh-? No!!” Martin sputters defensively. Ever since she and Tim found out about his little crush on Jon, they’d been relentless about it. It’s not like he thinks about him all the time. Or at least. He wasn’t thinking about him just now... Was he?

”Ok, thirsty boy.” Sasha teased.

Martin swallowed at the word “thirsty”. He was beginning to get hungry. He’d eaten this morning, though, so he couldn’t have been actually hungry. He just felt hungry. He needed a black, unsweetened cup of tea to quell his hunger.

”I’m going to get some tea..” Martin announced. Sasha giggled.

He stood up from his chair, and instantly fell back down as he was overcome with dizziness and million red, fuzzy shapes blocked his vision.

”Woah!” He groaned.

”Martin! Are you ok?” Sasha was by his side in an instant.

”I’m fine, I’m fine... Just.. A little dizzy from sitting down to long.” Martin assured.

Sasha frowned, “Here, take my hand.”

Not thinking straight, Martin took it, and let himself be helped up by Sasha, who was less than half his size. “Let’s get you hydrated.” She said, letting him slightly lean on her.

  
  


At the break room, Martin made a beeline to the electric tea kettle. Sasha did not miss his longing stare at the snack machine as he made his tea. She also noticed that he didn’t put anything IN his tea. Now she was fully suspicious. Anyone who knew Martin Blackwood knew how he liked his tea. Three spoons of sugar with a splash of cream. To think he would drink his tea black was to believe in the Tooth Fairy. Or one of their more suspicious statements.

”Martin, when did you last eat?” Sasha asked in a serious tone. For a second, Martin looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Which was ironic, because this was the complete opposite scenario. He then shifted to his “nothing is wrong” expression and said, “I had a big breakfast.”

”You came in at eight today.” Sasha said, “Are you telling me you haven’t eaten for at least six hours now?”

”It’s called fasting, Sasha, a lot of people do it.” Martin said, rolling his eyes and immediately feeling dizzy.

”And how big was this breakfast, hm?”

Martin didn’t answer. Didn’t even try to come up with a more satisfactory answer so she wouldn’t worry. His deceitful stomach answered for him with a deep, violent growl.

”Oh, Martin, please eat something.” Sasha begged.

”I-I can’t!” Martin said, “It’ll break the fast! I’ll stop burning calories and I’ll... I’ll gain weight! I don’t want to get bigger, I-“ Sasha placed a hand on his arm and he shuddered.

  
“This isn’t healthy, Martin”, she said softly, “You’re not just burning fat, you’re also hurting yourself.”

Too tired to argue, Martin pressed his mouth shut and let him be led to a table. He nursed his bitter, black tea and listened to Sasha walk to the snack machine and push coins in. Plastic rustling was followed by her approaching footsteps, and suddenly an ugly turkey and cheese sandwich was in front of him. He read the wrapper out loud, “Xtra Large Sub?”

Sasha sat down next to him, and took the sandwich. “I can share it with you? If that makes you more comfortable. But I’d like to see you eat at least one bite.”

”Oh. Um. Yeah, ok..”

Sasha handed him his half before taking a big bite out of her sandwich. Martin stares at his portion carefully, before nibbling at the end.

This vending machine sandwich, which should have tasted like wet cardboard, tasted fucking amazing. He took another bite, and then another, and he didn’t want to finish the whole half, but it was so delicious. Though he knew the reason it tasted so good was only because-

“Woah, slow down, don’t choke on that sub!” Sasha said. Sheepishly, Martin stopped wolfing down his food like an animal. Sasha smiled, “Good?”

“No..” Martin said around a mouthful of bread and meat before swallowing, “It tasted like a cheap vending machine sandwich. I was just so hu-“

Martin didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before tears flooded his vision and ran down his face into his mouth as the situation he was in suddenly became so significant. Sasha was here, sharing food with him, making sure he was properly nourished rather than depriving him of food like the memory from long ago that he suddenly, inconveniently remembered. He felt Sasha’s hand reach up and stroke his back, and suddenly his face was in the crook of her shoulders, his bulky frame shaking in her arms.

”Thank you... Thank you, Sasha.” He blubbered.

”Calm down, it’s just a sandwich, mate.” She half-joked.

Martin half-laughed. He made the right friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sasha is a leader at heart and knows how to take care of her team ❤️


	3. Tim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim wants Martin to at least acknowledge his own goods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shippy!

Martin was holed away in the boy’s bathroom. No good reason why he was there, really. He’d seen Jon eating a candy bar, who’s brand Martin recognized from a significantly “product placement” scene from a low budget comedy from the 90’s where the skinny protagonist throws said candy bar into an open field so his fat, stupid friend would chase after it like a dog. The fat character was shown running in slow-mo and of course he was shirtless, because how else would you know to laugh at his folds of fat jiggling in the wind, and Martin panicked at the thought of Jon seeing the same movie and thinking Martin looked like that underneath his shirt, and did Martin look like that underneath his shirt? He’d better check to make sure, and here he was.

He was standing in front of the bathroom mirror. He had slowly hiked his shirt up to his neck, and he forced himself to look.

Yep. He was still fat. Surprise, surprise.

Was he as grotesque looking as the fat joke in that movie, though? He knew that camera tricks were involved to make the overweight actor look as undesirable as possible, but candid angles could look just as bad, as he knew from prior experience (Just look at his Magnus Institute ID card!).

He prodded at his round face. Tucked in his double chin until he had four. He ran his hands down his hairy belly and held it up, grimacing as he observed he could, in fact, lift his belly and drop it, causing it to bounce. He ran his hands up, administrating the same treatment to his chest, when the door opened, and Tim was treated to the sight of him groping himself.

Martin let out an embarrassing scream, and fell backwards against the wall before slumping to the ground, his shirt around his neck and his entire torso still exposed.

”Woah, Martin! Martin, it’s just me, mate! Tim said, closing the door behind him and locking it for his measure.

Martin took several deep, panicked breaths before remembering his position and yanking his shirt back down. He felt all the blood rush to his face. “Tim- I... I was just...”

“Checking yourself out?” Tim asked with a wink.

Martin sputtered before his expression twisted into one of annoyance, “Haha, very funny, Tim.”

Tim cocked his head, “I wasn’t trying to be funny?”

Martin gave him a sobering look before realizing that Tim wasn’t joking. He raised his eyebrows in question.

”Martin.. You know you can get it, right?”

Martin rolled his eyes, “Ok, Tim, you don’t have to patronize me like-“ 

“I’m not fucking around, Mate!” Tim said sternly, “You’re sexy as fuck!”

”A-ah?” Martin’s face turned red. Was Tim just trying to make him blush? “Tim, PLEASE don’t just say things like-“

”I’m not,” Tim groaned, “I’m being completely sincere!”

Martin didn’t know where to go from this. He wanted to disagree with Tim, but the other man didn’t appear to be joking or giving throwing him a bone out of pity. He seemed... Genuine.... SEEMED.

“Tim..” He began to stand up, “I... Hm.”

”Yeah..?” Tim said, approaching him to lend a hand. 

Martin took his hand shyly, and allowed himself to be helped up. It was a little awkward to continue what he wanted to say with Tim in such close proximity, “I don’t see it. What... How do you see me? Like that?..”

”Easy. My bisexual goggles are always on!” Tim said, circling his thumbs and forefingers around his eyes for emphasis, “I’m into just about anyone, so long as they’re well above legal.”

Martin looked at him expectantly before looking down. He opened his mouth and closed it. He could feel Tim’s questioning gaze on him, though, so he blurted out, “I mean.... Me specifically? With all of....” He gestured to his own larger form.

Tim smiled, before lifting his hands to Martin’s shoulders, slowly enough to let the other move away if he wanted. He didn’t, so Tim took hold of his shoulders, and guided him in front of the mirror behind the sinks. Martin winced, but kept still. He didn’t want Tim to take his hands off his shoulders.

”Just look at how handsome you are, Martin,” Tim started, ignoring the deep blush that was beginning to form on Martin’s face, “broad shoulders,” he rested one of his slender hands on his chin, “a strong jaw,” he moved it up to his scalp, “a thick head of hair...”

Suddenly, Tim’s hands were at the hem of his shirt, and through the mirror’s reflection, he looked at Martin for approval. As embarrassed as he was, he knew Tim had seen him semi-shirtless just now, so it wouldn’t be a real shock. Additionally, he was morbidly curious to what Tim honestly had to say. He nodded his head, and Tim hiked his shirt back up to where it had been before he’d walked in on Martin.

”Stand up straight, Marto.”

”Wh-?”

”Stand up straight, you're slouching to hide yourself, but it’s just bunching you up in the middle. Trust me on this.”

Reluctantly, Martin stood you straighter and was pleasantly surprised by how much it had made a difference. His stomach, though still soft and hanging over his waist line, was more evenly distributed and his chest had looked less lumpy than it had been when he was hunched over. He looked... Stronger.

”There we go, look at that! Thick, sturdy, tall and strong.. Built like a lumberjack!” Tim said, heartily pounding a fist against Martin’s chest. Martin couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Tim must have noticed, because he added, “Built like an ACTUAL lumberjack, of course, not those little dehydrated models that sell you things on the telly.”

Martin tried to look at himself through Tim’s eyes. His body did look more.... Rugged standing up straight. And with Tim’s eyes peaking over his shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around his middle.... He drank in the image of himself and Tim in the mirror. He could almost convince himself he was desirable... The mock-hungry eyes in Tim’s eyes would help him pretend, at le-

“Dance card’s still open, y’know,” Tim said, moving his hands closer to Martin’s waist, lIf you maybe wanna... fool around?”

So he WAS hungry.

Martin’s face turned beet-red, “Oh! Um.” He carefully moved away and pulled his shirt down, “I don’t- erm... Nothing against you, you’re very... I just don’t think it’d be a good idea. I like being your friend.”

Tim huffed a laugh, “Yeah, you’re probably right. You’ve got your thing with the boss man, I got my thing with... Her,” Tim’s face made a very sappy expression as he thought about Sasha. Martin would have teased him about it if he didn’t have his own tail to step on, “It’s better to not complicate the shipping chart in the office, right?”

”Ha! Y-yeah.” Martin said, wondering if his face will ever go back to his normal color. This situation was a little awkward for him, but it was a little exciting to know that Tim, resident hot guy, was into him enough to come onto him like that... He didn’t think he’s “got game” as Tim would probably put it, but maybe... He was someone’s type?

“I got it!” Tim said, clapping his hands loudly and snapping Martin back to reality, “Let’s go to a gay bar tonight. Pick some cute guys up and help us forget about our useless pining character arc for a night! What d’you say?”

Martin went ramrod straight. Tim, taking him to a gay bar? That sounded like a recipe for disaster. Picking up cute singles was like a second nature to Tim, but Martin would flounder around the whole time. It didn’t sound fun. But it had been a while since he’d... And the way Tim had wrapped his arms around him had made Martin realize just how starved for touch he really was... Damn you, Tim.

”Yeah, sure, let’s do it!” Martin squeaked out, surprising himself.

”Yeah!” Tim cheered, pumping his fists in the air, “We’re havin’ a boy’s night tonight!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will of course take place at the gay bar. Who will be Martin’s wingman there might surprise you!


	4. Elias

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You read that title right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Insults, mention of suicidal thoughts (Not main character’s)

* * *

Elias stepped out of his bathroom donning his fluffiest bathrobe and bunny slippers. Steam seeped out of the door and he stalked to the kitchen. He popped some popcorn he didn’t need to eat the old fashioned way, then poured himself a glass of sherry that wouldn’t dull his senses.

He took his earthly pleasures to the living room, where his favorite chair sat. The rest of his house was more old fashioned, most of his furniture, decorating and architecture having been heavily renovated over the last hundred years or so, the aesthetic nostalgic and familiar to him. But he could make make one exception for this “Lay-Z Boy” chair. He sat down, sighing as he settled his popcorn bowl in his lap, and kicked his feet up.   
  


“Let’s see what’s on the Telly...” He said, smiling to himself as he picked up the clicker which had no batteries in the back. He clicked the “On” button and focused on his Archivist.  
  


He saw through his eyes, the form of Jon’s body slumped on the couch on what looked and felt like a particularly uncomfortable position. His eyes were focused on the phone held in his hands. It seemed that Jon, addict of useless knowledge, was stuck in a Wikipedia rabbit hole about inventors who were killed by their own creations. Before Elias could laugh, he suddenly became very aware of the Lunchable resting on Jon’s chest. He squirmed as his Archivist reached to indulge in this joke of a cheese plate, and scrambled for the remote to spare himself from experiencing it as well.

”No, no, Archivist, don’t put that in your mouth- Ah, let’s see what Sasha is up to..”

Sasha was also indulging in screen time, hunched over in a chair in a dimly lit room and tacking away at her keyboard, threatening an up and coming Russian hacker into forfeiting the blueprints for some bio weapon attack on Bulgaria or she’ll dox his-

“Boring,” Elias announced, rolling his own eyes, “I just want to relax after a long day of work with something... Trashy.”

He suddenly remembered who Tim was, and pressed “69” on the clicker.

  
  


The second he focused on Tim, he was emerged in the experience. Neon colors in a dimly lit bar, tacky decor and some very strange looking young people ordering drinks. He spotted a same-sex couple making out in a corner peppered with Tim’s internal excitement, and it was beyond obvious that Tim was visiting the gay bar he semi-frequented. He watched the bartender serve him two mojitos, and Tim’s eyes followed the hand that grabbed the second glass to face... _Martin_?

Elias choked on the sip of his sherry before **Knowing** that they were NOT on a date, despite the feeling from Tim’s eyes making Martin appear.... much more sexually appealing than through the average person’s gaze, but then again, that was just the effect of Tim’s own point of view. Sometimes Elias would stop him in the Institute hallways to talk about the most mundane things, just to see the more elegant version of himself, but that was beside the point.

The point was that Tim had apparently taken Martin to a gay bar to have relations with other men as to boost the larger researcher’s confidence. Intrigued by the more interesting character arc, Elias grabbed his clicker and changed the “channel” to Martin’s perspective.

It was always interesting to see two different perspectives in the same location. While Tim had seen the bar as a colorful playground with infinite opportunities for a good time, Martin had seen it as a chore in the form of a room with alcohol. The colors were more dull than Tim’s vision, the patron’s faces blurring out the farther they were, and the mojito in front of him smelled like escape.

”Oy,” Tim said, snapping Martin out of his apparent funk, “see anyone you like?”

“Uh.” Martin’s vision swam with red, the faces all blurring together now.

”Heh, take your time! Enjoy your drink, it’s on me!”   
  


Elias felt Martin’s guilt. “A-alright.”

Tim and Martin both became more and more tipsy as time went on, and Elias snorted as Tim followed his natural instinct and left Martin to the wolves to talk to a guy across the room that his friend had sworn he wasn’t attracted to. Feeling lonely and restless, Martin scanned the room and caught sight of a blonde, slightly built man sat at a table with his friends, staring in his direction and snapping his head back at Martin’s sudden attention.

Martin thought, “Oh, is he.... Into me?...” and stood up to walk over to the table.

Elias had a creeping feeling that this was a bad idea for Martin, but he continued to watch from his safe haven, naturally curious to see what happened next.

Martin reaches the table, and gathered all the confidence he could muster for a situation like this. “Hello, um.”

The blonde looked up, surprised, his eyebrows raised with a slight smirk on his face.

”I. Erm. Noticed you looking at me from across the room. Do yo-“

”Sorry, mate, I’m not into fat cunts.”

Martin’s hope shattered as fast as the glass of sherry in Elias’s hand.

”Oh.. erm... I’ll.. Be off then!” Martin said, trying to ignore the amused, pompous expression on the blondes’ face as he gave a look to his friends, hurriedly before making a beeline to the bathrooms and trying not to hear the voice calling after him, “Don’t let the door hit your enormous ass on the way out!”

Martin hurried into a single person bathroom and locked the door, staring at his own freshly tear-stained face, before looking down at his body that was definitely bigger and saggier and generally less appealing than it was.

By the time the events of the past minute had caught up to Elias, he was _fuming_.

”How... Dare he...” Elias growled angrily to himself, gripping his armrests hard enough to tear the leather, “That hooligan... How dare he disrespect _My_ researcher!”

Martin might not have been the ideal employee on paper. Uneducated. Inexperienced. No real passion for his career, not really. But while the rest of his employees had a degree, Martin had something that couldn’t be taught in schools. He was an excellent servant. He was sincerely caring. He forgave everyone and meant it. He could lie about his entire life and fool you if you didn’t have evil mind reading powers because he’d give zero indication that he didn’t believe a word he was saying.

A servant like Martin only came once a lifetime. Elias would know. And that little blonde bitch just insulted him to tears, and for what? Something so trivial as having more meat on his bones than the average person? Back in his day, you’d be lucky to find someone so well-endowed! But these days, the young, single people have become so picky, so spoiled, so... Rude.

What ever happened to manners? When someone comes to say hello at a mixer, you smile and say hello back! That’s common courtesy! You don’t call them a... A fat cunt!?

Especially not one of _His_ research assistants. Now Martin will be in a bad mood tomorrow, if he even came in and it was all because of that rude little delinquent!

Still seething, Elias raised his remote control and jabbed at the channel changing button so hard he almost broke it. He first went into Tim’s mind and flashed a faint, barely there image of Martin so he’d experience something not unlike intuition.. At least Tim was decent enough to pardon himself from the other man he was dancing with and ran to the bathrooms and knocked until he reached the one Martin was in. He softly knocked on the door, and the man inside hurriedly let Tim inside.

Assured that Martin was safe and wouldn’t do anything drastic, he changed the “channel” again. And then he was in that little blonde twat’s mind. He sifted through his generic, cruel memories of this man who never grew up, until he found it.

A sister.

An overweight sister.

An overweight sister who was in high school.

Elias’s lips twitched into an especially sinister smirk as he poured the raw, teenage girl emotions into this antagonist and made him see just what it was like to be rejected and ridiculed for having a larger body type. He was forced to endure the self-hatred, hopelessness every suicidal thought this thing’s sister had experienced, was experiencing, until he began to hyperventilate and dropped his face into the table in defeat.

His friends expressed concern he didn’t deserve, and he lifted his tear stained, snot encrusted, blotchy eyed face before saying, “I n-need to find that big bloke..”

* * *

“You ok, big guy?” Tim murmured to Martin, who’s head was cradled in his shoulder. He carded his fingers through his curly hair for extra comfort.

”Y-yeah,” Martin said shakily, “I don’t even know why it set me off so badly. Guess I was just caught off guard.”

”Might’ve been the three mojitos you had,” Tim said, “You’re kind of a lightweight.”

Martin made a sad little laugh at that.

“Martin... I’m really sorry I-“

”Oh- No, Tim, don’t apologize for this-“

”But if I had been with you I could have picked up on that arsehole’s shitty vibes and filtered him out for you!”

”You were having fun,” Martin said, “We’re here to have fun. And I can’t just rely on you picking up social cues I can’t for the rest of my life.”

”I knowww,” Tim drawled, “I just hate to see you learning these lessons on hard mode.”

”It’s not that hard,” Martin replied, “Not when I have friends like you.”

“Oh, ho, someone’s a _sappy_ drunk!” Tim teased. Martin chuckled deeply enough to shake them both, and stood up to face him.

”I’m feeling much better now,” Martin said, his face free of any evidence that he was crying, “Thank you, Tim.”

“Anytime, Marto.” Tim said fondly, “Do you want to go back out there, or would you like to go home?”

“I’m... Not sure, actually,” Martin said, “I sort of want to go back out there to prove that someone can’t just ruin my good time like that.”

”Fuck yeah,” Tim said, slapping Martin on the back, “And if we run into that prick out there again, I’ll kick the shit out of him for you!”

”Oh. Tim, you don’t.. Have to-“

“Ahh, you’re considering it, aren’t you?”

Martin lightly elbowed Tim in the ribs and hid a smile. Tim just cackled.

“I’m ready when you are, mate.”

”Right..”

Tim opened the door, and they were immediately greeted by the presence of a familiar blonde. Martin winced, apparently hard enough for Tim to feel it. He looked between Martin and the blonde.

”Is this the guy?” Tim asked, not waiting for an answer before he lurched toward the direction of the blonde.

“Wait! Hold on, I’m not here to cause trouble.” The other man said.

Tim wasn’t convinced. But Martin then noticed that the man in front of him was coated in a sheen of sweat, tears and mucus. His face was flushed, his hair messed up and eyes red. He looked like he had just suffered a mental breakdown. Martin put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Tim. Wait.”

The blonde opened his mouth and closed it a few times in a fishlike fashion, before he found his words, “I-I guess... No- I’m here to say I’m really sorry. I don’t know why I said-. I shouldn’t have said that. I was terribly rude to you, and I’m sorry I hurt your feelings like that.”

Martin cocked his head in confusion, “It’s, erm... Well, it’s not fine, but I’ve gotten over it, so I can forgive you, I guess-? Were you waiting by the bathroom this whole time to apologize to me?”

The man gave a shaky glance away and sputtered, “No, I just... Right after I called y- After I insulted you, I suddenly remembered my sister. She’s overweight and gets bullied for it. I guess I wasn’t really paying attention to her, but then I mocked your weight and all of a sudden I couldn’t stop thinking about it? What she must have gone through? It just! Wouldn’t! Stop! It didn’t stop until I realized I’m part of the problem... I’m part of the problem and I’m so sorry!”

the stranger began to blubber as a fresh set of tears ran down his face. Tim was uncomfortable. So was Martin, but his mother hen instincts were hard to shake. He lifted a hand and gave the stranger an awkward pat on the shoulder. The man must have seen the gesture as an invitation and he dove in for a hug. Martin, astonished, laid a shaky hand to his back before he turned and mouthed, ‘This is so weird!’, to Tim, who mouthed, ‘I know!’, back.

  
Eventually, the man barely calmed down and left with his friends, who picked him up while shooting “what did you do?” glances at Tim and Martin. Once again, they were by themselves at the bar.

”Well! That certainly killed the mood. And our buzz.” Tim said. Martin laughed.

”It was. Erm. Sweet... In an odd sort of way?”

“It was mental, is what it was. I wish my tears had the power to make my bullies cry like that! There wouldn’t have been a dry eye in my twelfth year!”

“Ah, twelfth grade bullying. Glad I didn’t know her!”

Martin and Tim dissolved into a fit of giggles together, slapping each other on the back until a slender redhead interrupted them.

”Erm. Excuse me?”

They sobered up and looked up to her.

”I... My friend’s had an eye on you for the past few minutes,” she gestured to Martin, “and he wanted to know if you two were here together?”

Martin’s eyebrows reached the top of his forehead. Tim jostled him back and forth on his barstool, “Oh, ho, ho! Look who’s got a bite!”

“Erm. No, we’re just here as friends. Wh-May I ask who your friend is?” Martin cursed the desperation in his voice that could be blamed on the alcohol for maybe ten more minutes, but the woman just smiled and pointed to a nearby booth, where sat a man around Martin’s age. He wore a flashy button-up, his hair was dyed red, his skin was a dark olive shade, and he looked to be on the heavy side. Martin wished he didn’t feel a little relieved to see someone else here who wasn’t so thin, but it helped him feel assured that this person wouldn’t say anything cruel about his body.

The man at the booth caught his gaze, and shot a scandalized expression at his friend, who just shrugged at him. His attention went back to Martin, who gave a shy wave. The man gave him a sultry look in return.

”Oh! Reel him in.” Tim said, shoving Martin off his barstool, “Reel him in!”

“Alright, alright!” Martin stammered.

Tim watched him confidently stride (or as much as Martin _could_ confidently stride) towards the man in the booth, and shyly lean in to say something. The other man smiled and said something back, and Martin went ramrod straight before nodding frantically and moving to join him in the booth.

* * *

Elias smirked in self-satisfaction before taking a giant swig straight from his bottle of sherry. He didn’t start this show thinking he’d end up being the incognito hero in Martin’s personal life, but he’ll modestly accept the title. He deserved it, after all.

Yes, he’d most likely be using Martin as a pawn in his game of chess (considering what a good knight Jon was turning out to be), but today, he’d performed his researcher duties as expected at the Institute, and he proved himself worthy for a night of drinking, dancing, and-

Elias dropped his popcorn as the scene in front of him was getting a bit provocative for his tastes. He should change the channel...

If he could just find that damned remote...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elias might not love Martin like the others, but he certainly values him... In his own “Elias” way.
> 
> PS: I am drawing a blank. If anyone has any suggestions on themes/character interactions for this fic I will gladly take them. Otherwise, I’m going to wrap it up. Thank you for reading so far!

**Author's Note:**

> So this first chapter didn’t focus too much on Martin’s weight, but he was bullied so much in season one I had to address that! I hope you enjoyed this so far!


End file.
